Turkey, US, Israel, to hold joint military exercise

The navies and air forces of Turkey, Israel and the US are to conduct joint military exercises dubbed the 'Reliant Mermaid X', in the Mediterranean.

The exercises are scheduled to be held next week from August 17 to 21 with the objective to practice coordinated emergency search and rescue operations, the Israeli army said in a statement on Tuesday.

Eight ships, four helicopters and three search and rescue aircrafts will take part in the maneuver. This is the tenth such exercise Turkey will be hosting in the eastern Mediterranean.

Israel and the US among all other motives are linked by a strategic cooperation agreement. Turkey is Israel's principal ally in the region and both countries have close economic ties following a military cooperation agreement in 1996. presstv

Israel warned of 2nd defeat against Hezbollah

Terrified Gates: Iran is a threat to Israel, US

Washington says Iran's nuclear program is a threat to both Israel and the United States, reaffirming its 'unbreakable bond' with Tel Aviv.

Gates looks terrified in front of his boss

US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates made the comments in a joint news conference with the Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak in Jerusalem (Al-Quds).

“We had a good meeting during which I reaffirmed the strong commitment of the United Sates to the security of Israel. As President (Barack) Obama said in Cairo last month our bond is unbreakable, “ he said.

“We also discussed the regional security challenges we both face from terrorism to the threat posed by Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons. “

The US Secretary of Defense added the US will continue to ensure that Israel has the most advanced weapons. More

US, Ukraine risk irking Russia with strategic accord

The United States and Ukraine risked irking Moscow by signing a strategic accord Friday that calls for a US diplomatic post in Crimea, a Russian-speaking area where Russia’s Black Sea Fleet is based.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Ogryzko signed the “charter on strategic partnership” that the State Department calls a statement of US intent to “intensify our engagement with Ukraine.”

The State Department said it outlines “enhanced cooperation” in the areas of defense, security, economics and trade, energy security, democracy, and cultural exchanges.

According to a copy of the document, “Ukraine welcomes the United States’ intention to establish an American diplomatic presence (American Presence Post) in Simferopol,” the capital of Crimea.

Such diplomatic posts are made up of one or two diplomats who do not perform consular duties.

In announcing the plans earlier, Rice’s spokesman Sean McCormack said the administration of President George W. Bush, which hands over to that of president-elect Barack Obama on January 20, did not seek to provoke Russia.

“This is about US-Ukraine bilateral relations,” McCormack told reporters. More

Bush`s farewell gift for Obama

US, Russian military chiefs meet

Top US and Russian military leaders have discussed ways to improve relations damaged by Russia's conflict with Georgia.

Adm Michael Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, met his Russian counterpart, Gen Nikolai Makarov, in the Finnish capital, Helsinki. No details were released following the unannounced talks. It was the highest-level military meeting between the two sides since the August conflict with Georgia.

An unnamed US military official told AFP news agency: "It is important to have a dialogue with Russia." He added that there were disagreements and that "Georgia certainly heads the list right now".

The Russia-Georgia conflict followed a sharp deterioration in relations between Washington and Moscow over the past two years. Russia opposes US plans to install missile defence bases in Poland and the Czech Republic. It was also angered by Nato's expansion into former Soviet republics and US support for the independence of Kosovo.

The fighting in the region began on 7 August when Georgia tried to retake the breakaway region of South Ossetia by force after a series of lower-level clashes with Russian-backed rebels. Russia launched a counter-attack and the Georgian troops were ejected from both South Ossetia and Abkhazia days later.

Talks between the two sides are set for 18 November after an effort to bring them together failed in Geneva last week. BBC

US, UK agree to negotiate with the good 'Terrorists'

The US-led troops are increasingly killed by the Taliban.

The US and Britain have agreed on seeking a negotiated settlement with the Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan, a British diplomat says.

British High Commissioner to Islamabad Robert Edward Brinkley revealed the plan while talking to a Pakistani daily, The News at the Saudi National Day reception hosted by its Ambassador Ali Saeed Awadh Asseri Friday night.

"There were good Taliban and bad Taliban present in Afghanistan. We are prepared to talk to good Taliban, who renounce violence and lay down their arms," Brinkley said.

Brinkley was of the opinion that negotiations were ultimate solution to the ongoing war in Afghanistan. "It will be in the interest of Afghanistan and Taliban both," he added.

The diplomat noted that Britain's commander in Afghanistan Brigadier Mark Carleton-Smith's views that the "war against the Taliban cannot be won" were not new. He also emphasized that the commanders belonging to other countries have also been advocating similar ideas in their own way.

Also, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates had endorsed the recommendation by Brig. Carleton-Smith that a resolution to the conflict would require negotiations with the Taliban.

Meanwhile, British envoy to Kabul Sherard Cowper-Coles earlier suggested that the best solution for Afghanistan would be to install an "acceptable dictator" in the country, France's weekly, Le Canard quoted him as saying.

The top British diplomats' comments follow the media reports that the US-led coalition forces began secret talks with the Taliban after the allies in the so-called war on terror came to an impasse in their efforts to tackle the insurgency in the violence-wracked country.

The recent developments come after the US-led coalition forces have experienced some of the most violent attacks since the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan, with more foreign troops now being killed in Afghanistan than in Iraq.

As casualties mount, so have Western calls for negotiations with the militants to bring an end to the conflict. But the Taliban have repeatedly rejected the idea of talks unless all 70,000 foreign troops leave the country.

The number of deaths in the war-torn country has skyrocketed. The victims include members of the US-led international forces and the Afghan military and increasingly, civilians. PressTV

US, Europe must confront Russian aggression, Rice says

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says the United States and Europe must 'stand up to' Russian aggression and convey to Moscow that it has become increasingly isolated in world affairs.

Rice is to deliver a speech in Washington later Thursday on Russia. The speech comes as relations between Washington and Moscow reached the lowest point since the end of the Cold War following Russia's invasion of Georgia last month.

'We cannot afford to validate the prejudices that some Russian leaders seem to have: that if you pressure free nations enough ­ if you bully, and threaten, and lash out ­ we will cave in, and forget, and eventually concede,' Rice says in excerpts released in advance by the State Department.

'The United States and Europe must stand up to this kind of behavior, and all who champion it,' Rice says.

Russia said the United States and its European partners must show there is no benefit to aggressive or intimidating tactics against neighbouring countries.

'Not in Georgia ­ not anywhere,' Rice says.

US-Russian relations have worsened in recent years on a number of fronts, including US plans to base a missile-defence system in Poland and the Czech Republic and western backing for Kosovo's independence earlier this year from traditional Russian ally Serbia.

Russia has initiated weapons sales with Venezuela and this month flew Cold War-era bombers to the South American country for military exercises, a move that annoyed Washington.

The United States has accused Russia of using European dependence on its natural gas as a political tool to bully former Warsaw pact countries and former Soviet states. More

US, anti-Iran groups hold secret meeting

US officials and heads of four Kurdish anti-Iran groups have held a secret meeting in the Iraqi city of Sulaimaniyah, a Kurdish website says.

The two-day meeting was aimed at coordination of the US and the anti-Iran groups on mounting more pressure on the Islamic Republic.

Ten American military officers and leaders of four Kurdish terrorist groups attended the meeting in the Palace Hotel in Sulaimaniyah, northern Iraq, the website said.

During the meeting, the Kurdish leaders called on the US officials to pursue the same policies, which led to fall of the Iraqi Baath regime, in a bid to overthrow the Iranian government.

The latest developments within the anti-revolutionary groups indicate that winning the US cooperation and support is the groups' objective.

Kurdistan Democratic Party's former Secretary Mostafa Hejri, had reportedly underlined cooperation with the US against Iran as a "necessity", in a meeting he held with students of Arbil University last year.

General Secretary of Komala terrorist group, Abdulah Mohtadi had also officially affirmed the need of monetary and arms support from the US.

Mostafa Hejri, Abdulah Mohtadi, secretary-general of a faction of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, Abdullah Hassanzadeh, and the general secretary of the Revolutionary Union of Kurdistan, Hussein Yazdanpanah were the four Kurdish leaders attending the meeting. Link

Ron Paul's Grave Warning On The Coming Iran War

US, Israel signal war on Iran

Washington and Tel Aviv vow to take 'tangible action' to prevent Iran from acquiring 'nuclear weapons', an Israeli spokesman says.

Israeli premier Ehud Olmert's spokesman, Mark Regev, said on Friday that the diplomatic efforts to exert pressure on Iran to give up its uranium enrichment have so far been insufficient.

"It is clear that additional steps will have to be taken," he continued.

"We are on the same page. We both see the threat... And we both understand that tangible action is required to prevent the Iranians from moving forward on a nuclear weapon," said the Israeli spokesman.

Regev then claimed that 'leaders of many countries' have discussed the prospects of using military force against Iran and affirmed that Israel agrees with the 'options on the table', hinting at a war against the Middle Eastern country.

Speaking before the Israeli Knesset on Thursday, US President George W. Bush threatened that it would be an 'unforgivable betrayal of future generations' to allow Iran to pursue its 'nuclear weapons ambitions'.

While Bush continues to lobby in support of an act of aggression against the Islamic Republic, a December 3 joint assessment by 16 US spy agencies conceded that Tehran is not running a nuclear weapons program.

Pundits say the US president's go-to-war rhetoric has exposed his flagrant disregard for concrete evidence and expert opinion.

"I have said Iran is dangerous, and the NIE estimate doesn't do anything to change my opinion about the danger Iran poses to the world - quite the contrary," Bush has said in response to the release of the US National Intelligence Estimate. FULL STORY

US, Czech delay signing missile deal

The signing of a treaty on the deployment of a US missile shield near Prague has been delayed as Czech citizens continue their protest.

Negotiators had been unable to set a date for the official signing, said Czech Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zuzana Opletalova on Monday.

"We have tried for May 5, but we did not succeed,'' she added without elaborating.

This came amid the announcement of the US embassy in Prague three weeks ago that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice would travel to the Czech capital in early May to sign the treaty.

Later on Monday, Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek said the deal could be signed in early June together with a secondary treaty that deals with issues including taxes and the legal status of US soldiers to be deployed to the Czech territory.

Both treaties will need parliamentary approval and negotiations on the second, "complementary'' treaty have not been concluded yet.

The proposed US missile defense system calls for a tracking radar in the Czech Republic and 10intercepotors missile in Poland. More

US, UK, France, walk out of UN meeting after Libya makes Nazi comparison

The United States, Britain and France have walked out of a closed meeting of the UN Security Council after Libya compared the situation in Gaza to Nazi concentration camps in World War II.

Council diplomats say Belgium and Costa Rica joined in the walkout.

It is a rare protest by members of the UN's most powerful body against one of their own members.

The council was discussing the possibility of issuing a press statement on recent Mideast events at a closed meeting late Wednesday when Libya's deputy ambassador made the comment. Jpost

US, Iran in secret discussions on nuclear program: report

The United States and Iran have been conducting secret back-channel discussions on Tehran's nuclear program and frozen relations between the two countries, The Independent reported Monday.

The British newspaper quotes former US under secretary of state Thomas Pickering as saying that a group of former US diplomats and foreign policy experts had been meeting with Iranian academics and policy advisers "in a lot of different places, although not in the US or Iran" for the past five years.

"Some of the Iranians were connected to official institutions inside Iran," Pickering told the paper.

Last week, the United States warned Iran it risked further isolation and new international sanctions after refusing to comply with UN Security Council resolutions over its disputed nuclear program.

The West fears Iran could use enriched uranium to make a nuclear weapon, and Tehran's refusal to suspend the process has been punished with three sets of UN Security Council sanctions resolutions and US pressure on its banking system. AFP

US, Russia Still at Odds on Missiles

President Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin failed to resolve their differences over a U.S. missile defense system at a farewell meeting on Sunday, with Bush saying the system is not aimed at Russia but at regimes that "could try to hold us hostage."

Bush also met Putin's hand-picked successor and pronounced him "a straightforward fellow."

He did not give President-elect Dmitry Medvedev the kind of unvarnished embrace he gave Putin seven years ago, but told reporters after meeting Medvedev: "You can write down, I was impressed and look forward to working with him."

At a joint news conference at Putin's Black sea vacation home, Putin was asked whether he or his protege would be in charge of Russia's foreign policy in early May _ when Putin steps down as president and becomes prime minister

Putin said Medvedev would, and that he would represent Russia at the Group of Eight meeting of industrial democracies in July in Tokyo. "Mr. Medvedev has been one of the co-authors of Russia's foreign policy," Putin said. "He's completely on top of things." The Associated Press

US, Britain stung by an Afghan temper

Admiral William Fallon, head of the US Central Command, traveled to Tashkent, Uzbekistan's capital, last Thursday. It was the first visit by a high-level US military officer since Uzbekistan President Islam Karimov evicted American troops from the Karshi-Khanabad airbase in Uzbekistan (used for ferrying supplies for Afghan operations) in retaliation for the covert American encouragement of the abortive Andizhan uprising in the Ferghana Valley in May 2005.

Central Asian leaders can be excessively polite. Karimov told Fallon, "We see your visit ... as a meaningful event in relations between the US and Uzbekistan." Karimov went on to say the visit was a chance to discuss "issues of common interest, first of all in the military and arms sphere". To be sure, Karimov knew his strategic defiance of the George W Bush administration has paid off splendidly well.

He will be justified in estimating that Washington is desperately keen to regain influence in Tashkent so it can effectively counter Russian and Chinese influence in Central Asia. He sizes up that the medium-term US objective will also be to consolidate a permanent North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) presence in Central Asia. In short, the Bush administration has learnt the hard way that Uzbekistan is a key country in Central Asia.

But in immediate terms, US Central Command is badly in need of Tashkent's cooperation for operating a second air corridor to Afghanistan so that the heavy dependence on Islamabad gets somewhat reduced. More